Case Study

Relevant Name Search Delivers Results for WordPress.com

No matter the industry, retailers must focus on delivering the best customer experience possible. It’s simply good business for companies to find and utilize the right tools to attract, retain, and satisfy their customers to maximize lifetime value and ROI.

Matt Bamonte, Director of Business Development at Donuts Inc., spent some time with Kellie Peterson, Head of Domains at WordPress, to learn more about how using Donuts Relevant Name Search (RNS) globally has improved the domain name customer experience and business at WordPress.com.

MATT: How do domain names at WordPress.com contribute to the greater mission and business of the company?

KELLIE: Domains are an integral part of the WordPress.com experience. Whether purchased explicitly or through a larger product plan, choosing a strong domain name has a significant impact on the overall stickiness & satisfaction for our WordPress.com customers.

MATT: How does the overall search experience impact WordPress.com’s domain business and setting your customers up for success?

KELLIE: Choosing the right domain name can be a struggle for any organization. Prior to the new gTLD program, the best option was often to add another keyword to find something that was available. Now, with hundreds of options for almost any search, it can be downright overwhelming. At WordPress.com we find that presenting a great mix of memorable, “brandable”, short and impactful domains is vital for customers to find the best name for their website.

MATT: You’ve selected Donuts RNS as your global search spinner. Why is RNS, and its features, a great fit for WordPress.com?

KELLIE: Donuts RNS allows WordPress.com to concentrate on our core competencies while still giving customers a strong search experience. Customers who identify strongly with the domain they select are much more likely to renew a domain name even if their original purpose for it doesn’t pan out as expected. We want to make sure our customers LOVE the domain name they select and use.

MATT: How did your team make the decision to move forward with RNS as its global search spinner?

KELLIE: Data, data, data. We spent months testing a number of third-party providers against each other as well as an internally built tool. RNS delivered what we needed – an increase in both domain registration and paid plan conversion rates – without having to continually invest in the ongoing development of something outside of our core product. We can put those resources to better work on other projects!

MATT: How should domain name search technology evolve in the future to deliver the most relevant domain names for your customers?

KELLIE: Using every cue that is available is incredibly important, but in today’s climate that also needs to be balanced against privacy concerns. Providing us with a variety of levers that we can use without having to disclose unnecessary information is ideal. Localization is another hot topic. We’re a truly global company and providing relevant suggestions in other languages is a big opportunity.

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